EXCLUSIVE: Portsmouth stars Nugent and Wilson in drunken brawl shame

Crisis club Portsmouth are now fighting among themselves with two of their players, David Nugent and Marc Wilson, fined a maximum two weeks’ wages after a drunken late-night brawl on a trip to Portugal last week.

Striker Nugent, a £6million buy from Preston, and midfielder Wilson are understood to have squared up to each other with metal clothes rails torn from their hotel wardrobes at 5am on Sunday after a night of heavy drinking.

The incident took place at the four-star Villa Hotel in Guimaraes following dinner after the 4-0 defeat by Benfica, the only occasion on the five-day tour when the players were allowed alcohol with their meal.

Warring team-mates on tour: Marc Wilson (left) and David Nugent

They later went to a nightclub before the team-mates’ fight broke out on their late return to the hotel.

Paul Hart, the Barclays Premier League side’s manager, who was never going to tolerate club colleagues behaving in such a way, sent both players home in disgrace in advance of the squad’s return on Monday.

Tough task ahead: Hart

A Portsmouth spokesman said last night: ‘Both David Nugent and Marc Wilson have been disciplined for a breach of club discipline while on the trip to Portugal. The matterwill be dealt with in-house.’

Pompey, hotly tipped for relegation even before the season kicks off, are already in turmoil with mounting fears that their proposed takeover by Sulaiman Al Fahim will not materialise.

The summer-long impasse over ownership has meant no financial backing for ninemonths and the club have already offloaded top stars Lassana Diarra, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and Peter Crouch.

Chief executive Peter Storrie warned yesterday that more players might have to be sold.

The Portugal episode could hasten Nugent’s exit. He has scored just three goals in two seasons at Fratton Park since his one England senior appearance and goal against Andorra while at Preston.